Ilma arched an elegant eyebrow. "Oh? Are you standing up for your fiancé already? Did you fall in love at first sight, Ilari?" She shot Kir an appraising glance. "Well, he *is* quite a looker."
Ilari threw a cushion at his sister.
"There, there, don't fight now. Kir will think we're a family of lunatics," Sanyi said, spreading his arms.
"Bit too late for that, Dad," Ivor piped in cheerfully.
Before the situation could descend into chaos it was definitely heading towards, Vera cleared her throat again and suggested, "Why don't we let the two children introduce themselves to each other?"
The twins gave her a thumbs-up. Sanyi glanced at his son expectantly.
Ilari sighed and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Ilari," he said politely.
Kir shook his hand solemnly and replied, "Hello. I'm Kir. It is nice to meet you."
Awkward silence reigned for a few moments.
Then Ilma shouted, "What the hell was that?! Could you be any more unromantic?!"
"We just met!" Ilari snapped. "What do you want me to tell him?!"
Ivor sighed. "Kir, please don't mind our little brother – he's the youngest in our generation and he's very spoiled. But he is not as stupid as he looks. He ranked #1 in both warrior class and scholar class."
The said 'not as stupid as he looks little brother' considered seriously throwing another cushion.
Kir nodded. "I am aware," he said quietly before looking at Ilari. "I enjoyed your paper on magic lines and energy maps very much."
Ilari blinked at him, surprised. "You…read my paper?"
Kir nodded. "It was very impressive. Your hypothesis on use of map lines disturbances to determine the exact location of a crime is brilliant. Are you continuing your research? If you succeed, every investigator in the world will worship you."
All the awkwardness forgotten, Ilari asked eagerly, "Are you an investigator, too?"
Kir flushed and shook his head. "I'm just a scholar with space magic. I work at the government research facility…but I…I would like to investigate if I could," he said shyly.
"Don't be taken in by his sweet face and mild voice, little brother," Ivor interrupted. "Kir here is the most promising researcher in the facility. He's also the youngest Director there."
Ilari was floored. "Director?! How old are you?!"
"Twenty-two." Kir answered before adding hurriedly, "But I studied abroad, so I graduated early."
"Very mysterious," Ilma remarked. "But you did save our family members, so we know you're a good guy and you're one of our own now, regardless of whether you actually become my brother-in-law or not."
Kir turned so red that you could fry an egg on his face.
Ilari, however, frowned and stared at his sister. "What do you mean?"
Ilma sighed and shrugged. "We may as well tell you. That small incident from last week wasn't small at all. Dad and Ivor would have been either killed or grievously injured if Kir hadn't stepped in."
Ilari paled. "What happened?"
Sanyi looked at his daughter reproachfully. "That's classified information, Ilari. We can't tell you. But you can be assured that Ivor and I escaped without a scratch thanks to Kir."
Ilari grabbed Kir's hands. "Thank you," he said sincerely.
Kir froze in place, wide-eyed and clearly panicked for some reason. Arusha suddenly swooped in and landed on the man's shoulder drawing a startled gasp out of him. Ilari withdrew his hands hastily while the macaw regarded Kir critically for a few moments. Satisfied with her observations, she nipped his ear and flew away.
"Oh, Arusha approves of you!" Ivor said, surprised. "Damn, I'm jealous. It took her over a year to warm up to my girlfriend!"
"And mine," Ilma grumbled. "We may as well set the wedding date as soon as Grandpapa comes."
Ilari glared at his sister. He might've refrained from questioning his parents but he was definitely not finished with his siblings! He'll drag the answers out of them sooner or later.
Vera patted her youngest child's hair soothingly. "We're not asking you and Kir to get married immediately. You just met, so you don't know each other at all. Why don't you try dating each other for a while and see where it goes? We would be happy if you find yourselves compatible – but if not, you can still remain friends. It is up to you; no one will force you two to do anything you don't want to."
"Personally, I don't think you'll find a better guy than Kir," Ivor told his brother.
"Hey, our Ilari is a prized catch, too, you know!" Ilma retorted.
"Alright, alright, calm down," Sanyi said, holding up his arms. "Now, Kir, why don't you stay with us for a few days? Ilari can drive you to your house to pick up some clothes."
Kir hesitated and glanced at Ilari.
Ilari sighed. "It is a good idea. Grandpapa will probably drag you here tomorrow anyway, so if it's not too much trouble for you, why don't you stay with us?"
"We'd love to have you," Vera confirmed before the twins spoke up again.
"Oh, and Ilari is a great cook! You're in for a treat, Kir."
"You may as well pick up some groceries while you're out. And then you can cook dinner for all of us, little brother."
Ilari huffed, but didn't refuse. He loved cooking and was very proud of his culinary skills. He turned to his newly acquired fiancé and asked, "What would you like to eat?"
Kir looked floored. "Er…anything is fine."
"Any food allergies?" Ilari enquired with a frown.
Kir shook his head.
"What does Kai like to eat?"
"Er…anything?"
Ilari's frown deepened. "What do you normally eat?"
Kir looked away and mumbled, "Instant noodles and takeaway."
The silence after his words fell was one of the heaviest that hung in this living room since the family moved in.
Ilari glanced at his watch.
"What time do you normally eat? Should I bring you a small snack now and we can have a proper meal later?"
Kir looked at him blankly.
"What time did you have your lunch today?" Ilari changed his question with fake calmness.
Kir scratched his chin. "Lunch…" His expression brightened. "I had lunch yesterday at 4 PM."
"No lunch today? What about breakfast?"
Kir shook his head.
"When was your last meal?!"
"Lunch…yesterday?" Kir said in a small voice.
The whole family stared at him in shock.
"No wonder the child is so thin," Sanyi muttered.
"Yes, just skin and bones. We must feed him properly," Vera agreed.
Ilari withdrew a notepad and a pen from his pocket and thrust them into Kir's hands. "Make a list of things you need to pack at your house. I'll get you something to eat in the meanwhile," he ordered. He looked up at his Mom's familiar. "Arusha, could you call Kai as well, please? I'll make him a snack, too."